The second grand prix of the year in the United States of America was the more memorable of the two, with thousands of fans witnessing a late battle between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen.
In a competition that saw numerous penalty kicks and even protests after the flag, there were particularly impressive performances on the field from the four world champions.
Here are Race Fans’ driver rankings for the United States Grand Prix.
Lewis Hamilton – 7
Qualified: 5th (+1 place ahead of teammate) -0.041 faster than teammate in Q3 Started: 3rd (+1 place ahead of teammate) Finished: 2nd (+3 places ahead of teammate)
Qualifying ahead of his team-mate in each session, he was disappointed to qualify only fifth, but managed to move up to third after a penalty courtesy of Leclerc and Perez. He was eventually caught by Verstappen and lost, pushing to move into the lead before resuming the gap on Verstappen within two seconds of lap 34 overtaking Vettel after pit stop problems and staying on the back of Vettel. He received a black-and-white caution flag with seven laps to go in turn 12 for violating track restrictions and finished second, more than five seconds off the winner.
George Russell – 5
Qualified: 6th (-1 place behind teammate) +0.041 slower than team-mate Started Q3: 4th (-1 place behind team-mate) Finished: 5th (-3 behind team-mate) Qualified sixth in each session behind team-mate His team-mate was less than a tenth down, gaining two places thanks to penalties from Leclerc and Perez, but despite an equally good start for his team-mate, he went into Sainz at turn one, taking him out and earning a five-second penalty. But he continued in fourth place, passing Stroll for third lap and serving a penalty at his first stop, losing a place to Perez, then losing fifth to Leclerc after a restart by safety Carran, with a heavy lap on his lap and stuck half a second lap to the front of the team on soft tires on the top lap. He finished fifth in the fastest lap attempt, successfully setting the fastest lap on the last tour
Max Verstappen – 7
Qualified: 3rd (+1 position ahead of teammate) Started: 2nd (7 positions ahead of teammate) 0.197 faster than teammate Finished in Q3: Winner (+3 positions ahead of teammate)
In each session ahead of his team-mate, he qualified third behind the two Ferraris, but ahead of his team-mate to take second on the grid. Sainz came off the line from a Leclerc penalty and led Hamilton to take the lead before the first corner. Hamilton dropped back after two safety car restarts but was unable to get away from the Mercedes, who responded to Hamilton’s pit stop with one lap, but a front-left problem cost him 11 seconds and dropped him behind Leclerc. Leclerc and Hamilton started to cut into the lead on the soft tires as Yaz Hamilton passed on the back straight for the lead. win
Sergio Perez – 6
Qualified: 4th (-1 place behind team-mate) +0.197 slower than team-mate Started in Q3: 9th (-7 places behind team-mate) Finished: 4th (-3 behind team-mate)
He was given a five-place grid penalty for taking the fifth engine in each session behind his team-mate. Contact with Bottas and was lucky, he stopped at his own will. The race continued with an injured front wing. Norris, Vettel and Stroll passed for the remainder of the race. He pitted from Russell for heavy tires and moved up to fourth after safety. Card restarted, but lost third place to Leclerc. Lai joined Leclerc behind Leclerc in fourth place but was unable to pass, finishing fourth after Haas injured his front wing after the race, but was dismissed.
Advertisement | Become a RaceFans fan and
Carlos Sanz Jnr – 6
Qualified: 1st (+1 place ahead of team-mate)-0.065s faster than team-mate in Q3 Starter: Pole (11 places ahead of team-mate) Finished: Retired (crash damage – L1)
In the first practice, the fastest man took pole position half a tenth faster than his teammates, leading Verstappen on the outside and trying to fight off Verstappen off the line in the middle goal, but was hit and forced to spin in turn one. Retirement at the end of the opening tip due to water leakage
Charles Leclerc – 6
Qualified: 2nd (-1 place behind team-mate) +0.065s slower than team-mate Started Q3: 12th (-11 places behind team-mate) Finished: 3rd
In first practice, Schwartzman’s car received another new power unit and was hit with a ten-place grid penalty to reach Q3. He started, gaining two places on the opening lap, then Albion, Gasly and Norris overtook Vettel to take sixth before the leaders made up, then passed Stroll before suffering a serious problem under the first safety. He took third from Perez and fought back to make up for second place on Verstappen, but despite being pressured by Perez on the final lap, he did his best but lost third place to the Red Bulls in the final lap.
Advertisement | Become a RaceFans fan and
Lando Norris – 7
Qualified: 8th (+9 places ahead of teammate) -0.581 ahead of teammate Started in Q1: 6th (+9 ahead of teammate) Finished: 6th (+10 ahead of teammate)
Now in Q3, he finished tenth after Zhu’s final hour was canceled due to track restrictions, before finishing eighth on the grid and sixth, initially losing ground to Vettel in Perez’s overtaken pass by Gasly to run ninth before hitting a hard lap on Stroll and Alonso, reportedly injured in a crash scene in second. Ninth after Tsunoda after the restart, testing difficult conditions for the second time in 15th, he passed Latifi, Tsunoda, Zhou and Albo in the last lap to catch and pass Alonso to finish sixth. as ‘the best of the rest’
Daniel Ricardo – 3
Qualified: 17th (-9 behind teammate) +0.581 slower than teammate Started Q1: 15th (-9 behind teammate) Finished: 16th (-10 behind teammate)
He missed first practice, with Palu qualifying 17th on the grid to qualify 15th on the grid before being overtaken by Tsunoda and ZhouPitted on hard tyres, moving up two places in the opening lap to 13th, regaining lost places in the second to Albon and Alonso to drop to the back of the field for a second hard set. With a lap to go, Laffin managed to get caught and finally crossed the line in 16th.
Fernando Alonso – 8
Qualified: 9th (+9 places ahead of teammate) -0.622 behind teammate Started in Q1: 14th (+6 places ahead of teammate) Finished: 15th (-5 behind teammate)
Without an updated floor for team-mate Heath, he was dropped with a five-place grid penalty for taking sixth engine and comfortably finished seventh in Q3, finishing the session ninth on the grid to 14th on hard tyres, gaining two places on the opening lap, then occasionally moving up to seventh from Albon for 11th by safety. Under the car, he started ninth before leaving for midfield and suffered a horrific crash that damaged the car and required repairs when he was stopped by Stroll, a new front wing groove and restarted in 16th, passing Latifi and Ricciardo before allowing his team-mate to pass the right-hand mirror after Stroll’s collision, eventually passing Magnussen on the back straight. He took sixth place, then battled to keep Norris behind him and was passed by Norris in a penalty and eventually finished seventh when he protested over a loose windshield, finishing 15th. Penalty of 30 seconds after the race
Esteban Ocon – 5
Qualified: 18th (-9 behind teammate) +0.622 slower than teammate Started Q1: 20th (-6 behind teammate) Finished: 10th (+5 places ahead of teammate)
After struggling to get into the 18th car all weekend running on the updated floor, he was forced to start from the pitlane after the team changed engines under par in Q1. Make way for Magnussen on the second restart, then pitted the team for the midgets, advancing him to 16th, taking down Latifi, Schumacher, Zhou and Albo on the final lap to finish 12th, sitting tenth after the race.
Advertisement | Become a RaceFans fan and
Pierre Gasly – 5
Qualified: 13th (+2 positions behind teammate) -0.407 faster than teammate in Q2 Starter: 11th (+8 ahead of teammate) Finished: 13th (-4 behind teammate)
He was in the top ten in every session ahead of his team-mate but he was upset when he finished 13th on the grid in Q2 lined up 11th on the grid, at the end of the first lap overtaking Norris went as far as eighth but again. He passed into turn 12, losing further ground to Leclerc, then came back ahead of Norris, pitted for heavy tires on lap 11, going up to eighth on the first restart and finishing seventh after a collision with Stroll and Alonso. Ten car lengths behind Vettel in the second Safety CarPitted from seventh for the second time the team failed to get a proper penalty and dropped to the back of the field, Latifi and Schumacher overtook Zhou and Albo on the final lap to drop from 11th to 13th in the final standings. Classification after an additional ten-second penalty for failure to comply with the first penalty
Yuki Shunoda – 6
Qualified: 15th (-2 behind teammate) +0.407s slower than teammate Started Q2: 19th (-8 places behind teammate) Finished: 9th (+4 ahead of teammate)
Behind his team-mate in every session for exceeding the gearbox allowance, he was hit with a five-place grid penalty, fell behind his team-mate in 15th in Q2, struggled with his team-mate’s balance, had a terrible start on the grid in the final, got into chaos and passed Latif and Schumacher for 14th on lap two, overtaking Ricciardo’s second midfield. He spun at ten and moved past Albon for second before safety, but was told not to challenge his team-mate Gaslin and was passed by a lap behind his team-mate in frustration. Latifi and holding up to Zhou eventually passed Zoe with six laps to go, then Albon with three laps to take ninth, having inherited tenth after Alonso’s penalty.
Sebastian Vettel – 8
Qualified: 12th (-5 places behind teammate) +0.366 slower than teammate Started Q2: 10th (-5 behind teammate) Finished: 7th
Shame we didn’t follow his team-mate into Q3, losing time in the final Q2 in third place and finishing tenth on the grid, gaining three places off the grid and two more places, Sainz was relegated to the second midfield after Pérez spun fifth. At first safety Karran extended his time to sixth and second after a second restart, eventually increasing his lead when the leaders suffered a serious problem after passing Hamilton, but a painfully long stop meant that in the 13th overtok Tsunoda, Zhou and Albon moved into ninth, then Magnussen chased down Count and Magnussen from the final lap battle. He later claimed eighth, rising to seventh after Alonso’s penalty.
Lance Stroll – 4
Qualified: 7th (+5 places ahead of teammate) -0.366 ahead of teammate in Q2 Start: 5th (+5 places ahead of teammate) Finished: Retired (crash – L22)
Unlike his team-mate, they reached Q3 to take a strong seventh place, which was fifth on the grid, Russell was promoted to third in the opening lap after a collision with Sainz and held the position until he was overtaken by Russell and Perezran for fifth. On lap 15 he restarted seventh after the first safety car but made a dangerous move on Alonso which caused a horror crash that forced him out of harm’s way and the Mexican was handed a three-place penalty for being “primarily responsible”.
Advertisement | Become a RaceFans fan and
Nicholas Laffey – 3
Qualified: 20th (-9 behind team-mate) Started: 17th (-9 behind team-mate) +0.312s slower than team-mate Finished in Q1: 17th (-6 behind team-mate)
After a team-mate missed each session to hand over the opening practice car to Sargent in Q1, he lined up 17th on the grid in nine places, passing Schumacher on the opening laps on the laps and moving to 16th, dropping him to the back of the field. He came under the safety car for hard tires for the second time under the safety car for another average set-up, then gained a place in front of the cars, earning a five-second penalty for hitting Schumacher while struggling, accepting responsibility for Ricciardo on the final lap and finishing 17th.
Alexander Albon – 6
Qualified: 11th (+9 points ahead of teammate) -0.312 faster than teammate Started in Q1: 8th (+9 ahead of teammate) Finished: 12th (+6 ahead of teammate)
A safe pass ahead of his team-mate in each session into Q2 with a last-ditch effort in Q1, then a strong lap in Q2 out of Q3 to put him eighth on the grid at the 11th start, he fell to ninth on the opening lap after flat tires in turn one dropped the field in the earlier laps in Leclerc, He passed Bottas and Alonso before leaving for the second intermediate set, first Safety CarPassed Ricciardo after the second restart suffered for the heavy cars and led the train of small cars in ninth. Vettel, Tsunoda, Gasly and Ocon were 11th after a penalty to finally cross the line 13th, but five seconds were cut by leaving the track and holding their positions.
Valtteri Bottas – 4
Qualified: 10th (+4 places ahead of teammate) -0.649 ahead of teammate in Q2 Start: 7th (+11 ahead of teammate) Finished: Retired (spun – L17)
Theo Purcher came out of first practice to drive the car, squeezed in to qualify tenth and went into Q3. This led to seventh off the grid and seventh on the grid, but he was hit by Perez on turn nine and eventually dropped to 11th overtok Albon. Tires and 14th rejoining the Lost control in 19th shift in the wind flame and retired, admitting “it’s my fault”.
Advertisement | Become a RaceFans fan and
Zhou Guanyu – 5
Qualified: 14th (-4 places behind team-mate) +0.649 from team-mate Started in Q2: 18th (-11 places behind team-mate) Finished: 11th
The team missed most of final practice and appeared to advance to Q3 while working on CarHit’s five-place grid penalty for taking fifth ICEBreezed in Q2, but a better time was scrapped due to track restrictions and he gained one place by avoiding 18th. After Sainz’s spin, he overtook Schumacher on lap two, Ricciardo was then one of the first to pit for hard tyres, Fell dropped back after being pitted under the second safety car and was tenth to tenth behind Albion, but on the final lap of Vettel, Sundoda, Gasly and Ocon took the checkered flag in 14th but separated. Penalties later increased to 11.
Mick Schumacher – 4
Qualified: 19th (3 places behind team-mate) +0.162 slower than team-mate Started Q1: 16th (-3 places behind team-mate) Finished: 14th (-6 behind team-mate) Missed lap time due to third practice 19th after spinning in Q1 in first Averted in the final push lap, he started on hard tires and was passed by Tsunoda on the opening lap, passed by Latifi and Jubattled by Ocon for several laps before being thrown under the safety car for the median, picking up debris from Stroll’s accident. It cost him for the rest of the race as he restarted in tenth, troubling Norris in the face and hitting him hard on the lap before 33rd rejoined 16th and passed Latifin for the lead despite being hit by Gasly and Ocon at the Williams pass, but dropped to 15th. .
Kevin Magnussen – 7
Qualified: 16th (+3 positions ahead of teammate) -0.162 ahead of teammate Started in Q1: 13th (+3 ahead of teammate) Finished: 8th (+6 ahead of teammate)
In first practice, Giovinazzi sat down to face his car and could have made it out of Q1, but he was unlucky to lose three tenths of a lap on the pits, losing four places due to a spin in the first corner due to a spin from Sanz, but then Zhu fell to stay in turn 11. He passed Ocon but initially used hard tires to take places before the scrutineering. The car restarted and started 15th. For points, however, Alonso finished eighth following a post-race penalty.
to you
Pick the driver that impressed you the most last weekend and find out if other RaceFans share your view here:
2022 United States Grand Prix
Browse all 2022 United States Grand Prix articles
